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La Fonda on the Plaza October 2015 Email Newsletter

Celebrate Oktoberfest in Santa Fe

Jenny's View

Dear Friends,

My husband Rob is a beer-lover who will be the first to admit that our home in Arizona just doesn’t hold a pint to our digs in Santa Fe when it comes to beer-dom. Of course, Albuquerque is better known as a craft beer haven, but the City Different boasts a number of unique operations (and taprooms for Duke City breweries) that seem a bit better suited to yodeling.

The granddaddy of them all, Santa Fe Brewing, opened 27 years ago and is the state’s largest brewery (along with Albuquerque’s Marble Brewery). Every fall they brew an Oktoberfest beer that you can apparently enjoy without “a mug that is larger than your head while dancing to polka music and wearing your lederhosen”! Visit their taproom south of town on Saturday afternoons, when they offer tours and tasting of small-batch experiments like Cactus Stout and Green Chile Pale Ale.

Another great destination is Second Street Brewery, whose two locations (Second Street and the Railyard) have become instant magnets for hipsters. These guys are no slouches when it comes to polka and lederhosen: Along with the usual American and British styles, their list includes Bock, Kolsch, Altbier, Schwarzbier, Dortmunder, Bohemian Pilsner, and of course the annual Oktoberfest. Rounding out the must-sip list are the multi-award-winning Blue Corn Café & Brewery (where many of the state’s brewers got their start) and newcomer Duel Brewing, which is unusual in that it specializes in Belgian-style beer. On a crisp fall day in the mountain air, that is sure to inspire at least a tiny bit of cowboy yodel.

Oompapa,

Jennifer Lea Kimball

Recipe for Adventure

It’s not time to cover up the grill yet! Chef Lane has a great spicy dry rub for Wild Boar. And, if wild boar isn’t readily available where you live, you can stop by the local Farmer’s market or your grocery store and pick up some pork tenderloin or your favorite cut of pork.

Spicy Rub for Wild Boar

Live at La Fonda

Eclectic as your favorite mix tape, J.J. and the Hooligans revisit hits from the '60s. '70s, and '80s, from blues to country to R&B. Motown with Miranda Lambert, in other words—all in high-energy dance mode that channels Santa Fe's true roadhouse spirit.

The five-member band are all seasoned musicians who decided to play the kind of music they like—everything from Van Morrison to Susan Tedeschi, Rolling Stones to Soft Cell—in tight, rollicking covers headlined by the resonant vocals of Jay Galvan Heneghan, also a classically trained pianist who plays a mean bongo.

Trumpet player Tom Rheam has played with Buddy Rich, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and the Temptations, among other brassy bands. Bandleader Pete White, a Santa Fe native, has logged a quarter century behind the guitar, while drummer Ben Bauer has played from Boulder to California to Albuquerque. The newest member of the band is bass player John Perado.

Their sound continues to evolve, says White, as everyone contributes ideas. “We strive to have a lot of variety,” he says, and as newcomers at La Fiesta Lounge, they look forward to playing their first show Oct. 21 and 22. White says the band was “discovered” by La Fiesta’s Jose Suniga while playing at a wedding at La Fonda. Jose had overheard a guest say that pop star Katy Perry was in the hotel and so he decided to check out the band—Sadly, it was just a rumor that nearly upstaged the guests of honor, but it did lead to a booking in La Fiesta.

It's a Good Time to...

Catch the moment when the mountains glow with autumn fire, on a short or long walk on Picacho Peaks, Atalaya, or other popular trails close to town. Or drive up north to witness New Mexican skies at their turquoise finest, with chile ristras still blooming on market stands.

Art studio tours give you the perfect destinations: picture-perfect Abiquiu (Oct. 10-12) or Galisteo (Oct. 17-18). Get a jump on holiday shopping at the eco-conscious Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival, which brings all manner of salvaged creations to the Santa Fe Convention Center (Nov. 20-22), along with the popular Trash Fashion and Costume Contest.

The New Mexico Museum invites the Harvey family and Harvey history enthusiasts for a special event at La Fonda on Oct. 22nd. This intimate gathering titled, "Dinner with Daggett", will feature a three-course dinner and a conversation with Fred Harvey descendant, Daggett Harvey and author, Stephen Fried. Limited tickets are still available. For more information, click here. Denizens of Middle Earth might want to sign up for St. John’s College’s six-seminar public class on The Fellowship of the Ring (Oct. 3-Nov. 7), which applies the same intensive teaching approach for which the school is known. Or explore classical writings on solitude (Oct. 7-Nov. 11), or two works by Louise Erdich (Nov. 14). If art, landscape, and literature are not what you find most beautiful, you may not be alone. The Southwest Bacon Fest at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park (Nov. 7) will bring food trucks and local breweries to worship the beauty of…bacon.

Performance Santa Fe’s Family Concert series offers introductions to classical music, starting with Mozart’s 3 Little Pigs (Oct. 11) at the First Presbyterian Church, and Rumplestiltskin by the Harlem String Quartet (Nov. 15) at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Harlem String plays again (Nov. 16) at the Museum of Art, and with Joseph Illick for his Notes on Music (Nov. 17) at United Church of Santa Fe.

An evening of Indian jazz at the Lensic will feature tabla player Zakir Hussain (Oct. 9), while the reunited Cumbia All Stars from Peru add a touch of modern-day psychedelia to the ancient folk genre (Oct. 12). Joan Armatrading performs a solo concert (Oct. 13),Grammy winners Los Lobos perform (Oct 24), and Canadian folk minstrel Bruce Cockburn is on tour for his 31st album (Nov. 10).

Beirut, which got its start here in New Mexico, plays a free concert at the Santa Fe Bandstand (Oct. 4) to celebrate the release of a new CD. Singer-songwriter Mason Jennings plays at the Skylight (Oct. 21), followed by Greensky Bluegrass (Oct. 27), the perennially popular Dandy Warhols (Nov. 10), the up-and-coming band Houndmouth (Nov. 15), and the multi-instrumental performance artist That1Guy (Nov. 18). The extravagant Portland Cello Project stretches the borders of their big strings at the James A. Little Theater (Nov. 7).

At the Museums

Try your hand at making a hot-air balloon trading card (Oct. 2) or straw appliqué box (Oct. 4) at the New Mexico History Museum, which also sponsors talks on the Harvey Houses of New Mexico (Oct. 8) and a performance by cowboy balladeer Don Edwards performing The Legend of Jack Thorp (Oct. 18). In November, learn about the Civil War (Nov. 8), Japanese internment camps (Nov. 15), and the difference between TexMex, Mexican, and New Mexican cuisine (Nov. 25).

Modernism is the theme this fall, as two talks at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum explore Modernist contributions (Nov. 21, 25), while another at the New Mexico Museum of Art (Oct. 7) focuses on O’Keeffe. Make sure to check out the Modernism special we are offering at La Fonda through January. Art-related activities at the O’Keeffe include an afternoon of guided painting (Oct. 6, 8, 10), day-long tours of Ghost Ranch (Oct. 14, 28), or cooking and tasting recipes from her A Painter’s Kitchen (Oct. 22). The Museum of Art crosses into modern music with a program in partnership with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra: a study of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Oct. 16) and a free concert of early modern music (Oct. 17). Come party Modernist style at a 1930s Halloween party (Oct. 30), or celebrate the Day of the Dead at the Museum of International Folk Art.

Screening at the Lensic, Met Live in HD presents Verdi’s Il Trovatore (two shows Oct. 3), with Anna Netrebko opposite Dmitri Hvorostovsky; a new staging of Otello (Oct. 17, 19); and a Halloween screening of Wagner’s Tannhauser (Oct. 31). In November, catch Lulu(Nov. 21), with staging by William Kentridge of The Nose. You can prep for your evening of Wagner with Joseph Illick’s annual tribute to the enigmatic composer in his popular Notes on Music series (Sept. 24).

Looking for something truly Santa Fe? Local art luminaries Donald Rubinstein and Ra-Kalam Bob Moses perform a genre-crossing performance at the Lensic they call “Sounds of Santa Fe” (Nov. 13). And the Rumi Concert returns to town with a mix of ecstatic poetry and performance including translator Coleman Barks and vocalist Jai Uttal (Nov. 14)

Meanwhile, the National Theatre Live in HD presents Hamlet with Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (Oct. 30). And Portland’s Imago Theatre brings its critically acclaimed ZooZoo (Nov. 1) to the Lensic, a costumed menagerie that sings, dances, and does tricks with absurdist flair. Also at the Lensic, Gene Kelly’s biographer/wife presents an intimate portrait of the iconic dancer, director, and choreographer in an evening of stories and film clips from their years together (Oct. 10).

Speakers

Two intriguing talks are coming up at the Lensic. Henry A. Giroux, who has been named one of the top 50 educational thinkers of our time, will speak on the systematic undermining of democracy by corporate interests (Oct. 14). And best-selling journalist Douglas Preston will talk about the discovery of a lost city in the Honduran jungle (Oct. 20). A reception following the talk will be held here at La Fonda, where you can meet Preston in person.

On Nov. 11, international novelist Aminatta Forna, author of The Hired Man and The Memory of Love and Ancestor Stones, will speak at the Lensic.

La Fonda and Santa Fe In the News

We are very excited to announce that La Fonda on the Plaza was named runner-up as the Hotel With The Most Character in Saveur Magazine’s Readers' Choice “Good Taste Awards”! READ MORE